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KUALA LUMPUR – Incumbent Klang MP Charles Santiago said his originating summons to stop the 15th general election (GE15) is not against the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, but against caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s request to dissolve Parliament.
“We are challenging the advice given to his majesty by Ismail Sabri, which is void under the circumstances.
“(His) request for the dissolution (was) done without cabinet support,” Santiago said in a statement today.
He was responding to the filing of an application yesterday by the caretaker prime minister, government, and Election Commission to strike out his originating summons.
In his originating summons filed on Tuesday, Santiago had sought an injunction to bar the EC from holding GE15 due to opposition from ministers concerned by the floods normally brought by the monsoon season.
Santiago said the ministers did not unanimously support Ismail Sabri’s call for dissolution, noting of the 80 ministers and deputy ministers in the cabinet, only 29 were from BN.
Among their ranks, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin had publicly disagreed with holding GE15 this year.
Santiago also pointed out that caretaker youth and sports minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu had also publicly stated that Ismail Sabri did not inform the cabinet about the dissolution.
As for Umno, which has been the most vocal about holding early polls, Santiago said the number of MPs the party had in Parliament only amounts to about 17%.
It was also clear that other political parties had disagreed with an early dissolution, he added.
“Assuming that all the Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional MPs oppose the dissolution, this would amount to 135 lawmakers: a clear majority,” he said.
The high court will hear his application on October 20. – The Vibes, October 15, 2022